Storms, Light, Patterns

I love storms, especially just before they start and then when they are over. It’s a time when the “normal” view is altered into some romantic gesture of time to make a change in the routine of life to celebrate that life. In the Sierra as the wind whips over the crest, clouds battle the winds to drop their moisture before being carried east. I always challenge myself to bring that emotional response to the click. Be it a tornado or simple snow fall, I just love chasing storms!

And just as much as I look for that grand landscape kind of shot, I seek those small details, patterns that convey the same emotional response. Living in snow country, I have become a connoisseur of snow. What the hell does that mean? Well this photo is a good example of that. Only certain storms produce the right wetness of snow that sticks to trees like frosting. Too light and it looks like hoar frost, too heavy and it’s just a glob. I’m looking for that just right and that’s because it creates the mental picture of a snow covered forest which in reality only last for moments. Once the sun hits it, it melts and falls off. In chasing those storms, I look for these patterns in the light and snow that suggest the amazing serenity that comes after a storm. It’s these moments I cherish, behind the camera and then the time after.